


Promises Not Forgotten

by Mystic_Harley



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22571974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystic_Harley/pseuds/Mystic_Harley
Summary: Goku said that one day he would apologize to his grandfather in Heaven. Now, after the Cell Games, he finally makes good on that promise.
Relationships: Son Gohan Sr. & Son Goku
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Promises Not Forgotten

It was difficult not to let one’s mind wander when you’re dead. Son Goku was proud of his skills as a martial artist but when you’ve spent literally years of your life training and perfecting your techniques, the mind starts to branch out on it’s own. Old memories that he had thought he had moved on from.   
  
The loud, thundering roar of a gigantic ape. It was years ago now, back when Vegeta was still a bad guy and he had transformed into… into the  _ monster. _ Goku didn’t want to believe it at first, but when Vegeta presented him with the undeniable truth it just made that day even worse.   
  
He had learned he was the one who killed his Grandpa.   
  
Suddenly all of those warnings about looking at the full moon made sense now. When Kami was going to restore the moon he had his tail removed as the only condition.    
  
Goku squeezed his eyes briefly in pain. Martial Arts was more than just physical prowess and discipline. If one’s mind wasn’t sharp and focused, then you could be the strongest person on the planet and someone weaker but smarter than you could topple you as easily as a leaf in a tornado. He took a deep steadying breath, and while Goku preferred looking ahead instead of behind, he had to put this one demon in his past to rest for good.   
  
Besides, he had made a promise.   
  
“Hey, King Kai, can I ask for a favor?”   
  
The North Kai looked up a little in surprise, raising an eyebrow skeptically at his star pupil. “Don’t tell me, you want me to summon Freiza or Cell or something so you can train more, right?”    
  
Goku laughed a little, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think you could do that even if you wanted to.” He ignored the kai’s outburst of disbelief. “I wanted to know if I could talk to someone. I think he’s in Heaven. At least if the halo over his head the last time I saw him meant anything.” He could tell the Kai was curious now, he was really awful at hiding his emotions no matter how good he thought he was.   
  
“I can’t make any promises, especially depending on who it is.” King Kai warned sternly, wagging a finger at the saiyan like one would a naughty school child.   
  
Goku huffed, folding his arms childishly. “It’s not that bad. I um…” He faltered slightly, glancing away unhappily. He always felt uncomfortable dealing with these sorts of emotions. It was something Bulma or Chi-Chi or even Piccolo now was better at dealing with than he was. But, ignoring them would be a worse alternative to dealing with them. At least his mind could be at ease if he gave it an earnest try. “I want to talk to my Grandpa.”   
  
King Kai looked a little confused, cocking his head a little. “Your grandpa? How do you even know who your grandfather is Goku, you don’t even know your father.”   
  
Rolling his eyes, Goku shook his head. “No, not  _ that _ grandpa. My Grandpa Gohan.”    
  
“Oh right, I forgot you were adopted on Earth. Hrmm… I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t make any promises like I said!” King Kai warned loudly before growing silent, his antennae twitching.    
  
Goku shifted restlessly as the silence purveyed longer than he would have liked. After a few more minutes, King Kai’s antennae twitched again and he made a shooing motion with his hand. “This is going to take a while, go train or something Goku.”   
  
As much as he would have liked to press the issue, Goku did as he was told and wandered off to the far side of King Kai’s small planet. He sucked in a breath, trying to clear his mind as best he could despite all of the emotions swirling around him. Focus on the energy of this little planet. Of the tree where Bubbles usually liked to hang out. Of Gregory and Bubbles, running around near King Kai’s car. Of King Kai himself, ancient and wise. Channel that energy, let nature’s energy flow through his fingertips and extend outwards. Let it form a tiny ball in his hand, and expand it bigger and bigger.   
  
Opening his eyes, he smiled a little at the miniature Genkidama in his palm. He hadn’t made one like this since his fight against Vegeta, and he stretched his shoulders out a little before pitching it as hard as he could, tensing up quickly before wheeling around and kicking it high into the air. He watched as the ball bent around his foot before taking off, and he moved so fast it seemed like he was teleporting as he appeared above the ball, hands closed into fists and he spiked it back down. The Genkidama spiralled back towards King Kai’s planet and Goku quickly flash stepped back towards the ground, catching it in his hands.   
  
He had barely gotten out of breath with that little exercise, and he exhaled slowly, letting the energy curl back into where he had borrowed it from. He looked down at his hands, not surprised that they looked like they had been burnt slightly. Conditioning his body to be able to handle attacks like that would come in handy for the future when he couldn’t rely on dodging. Sometimes, you weren’t able to get out of the way fast enough. Better to figure out a way to redirect the attack than take it.   
  
As he was about to form a different ball of energy, an old and sage-like voice broke the silence. “My my… you really have grown Goku..”   
  
Wheeling around, still in that same old uniform that he had last seen him and with a halo over his head. Goku grinned happily at the sight of Grandpa Gohan. “Grandpa! Yeah! I’ve gotten a heck of a lot stronger now!” He flexed a little despite himself, showing off his muscles. “Boy, you would be super proud of me if you saw some of the fights I got into!”   
  
Gohan chuckled a little. No matter how old the boy was, he was still that excitable little kid that he had raised. Holding up a hand to stem the excitable flow that he knew would come, Gohan spoke. “Yes son, I’ve heard bits and pieces of your achievements and even if you had turned into an old soggy newspaper like Roshi, I’d always be proud of you.”   
  
Goku cocked his head in confusion at the insult towards their master. “But… Grandpa, Master Roshi was  _ your _ teacher too wasn’t he?”   
  
Waving his hand dismissively, Gohan shrugged. “Ah, but I wasn’t asked to be here so we could talk about my old master. You wanted to talk to me, didn’t you Goku?”   
  
Drat, so much for that distraction. Shifting a little, Goku eventually sighed and sat down, pouting. Gohan walked over, sitting down in front of his grandson. He didn’t say a word, which Goku appreciated immensely. They both knew that it wasn’t easy for Goku to talk about his feelings, and his grandpa would give him all of the time in the world.   
  
“I…” He started, before shaking his head and bowing it slightly. He thought it was funny that talking to his Grandpa about this was something on the same level as fighting Cell. At least  _ Cell _ wasn’t worthy of an apology. But, one couldn’t claim to be a martial artist if one wasn’t in touch with their emotions, something Goku constantly struggled with.   
  
“I… I wanted to say I’m sorry Grandpa.”   
  
Now it was Gohan’s turn to cock his head curiously, blinking at his grandson. “What on earth do you have to apologize for?”   
  
Goku swallowed, pressing his fingers together guiltily. “For… for killing you.” Gohan’s eyes widened, and Goku cut him off before he could protest. “I know it was me, Grandpa. I know that when I had my tail and when I looked at the full moon I turned into a… a  _ monster. _ ” He hissed the word out angrily. “It had happened during the Tenkaichi Budokai against Jackie Chun. If he hadn’t blown the moon up…”   
  
“Goku. Look at me.” Reluctantly, Goku raised his head to look into his grandpa’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what he was really looking for. Condemnation, scathing retort? Instead, he saw that same old kindness and love that his grandpa had always shown him. “Do you think you’re a monster, Goku?”   
  
His initial response was to shout ‘Of course not!’, but he found himself hesitating. “I… don’t know. Kami had my tail permanently removed but…” He trailed off, aware of the deep anger seething inside of him. The way to tap into the power of the Super Saiyan, his climactic battle on Namek where he had nearly died because he was so focused on nothing but pain and revenge.    
  
“Because I’ll tell you what I see.” Gohan said quietly. “I see a wonderful young man that I’m proud to call my grandson. It’s not every day you get to claim you raised the savior of the earth oh, what, three times now?”   
  
Giving an embarrassed laugh, Goku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Something like that. I guess I never thought of it like that.”   
  
“Exactly. So why are you apologizing to me?”   
  
Oh, right. Goku’s happy expression faded away, and he played with a blade of grass to distract his hands. “....I still killed you, Grandpa. I didn’t listen to what you said and I…” He shook his head a little.   
  
“Goku, I’m sure Roshi taught you this but mistakes happen. It wasn’t the first time you had transformed into that ape creature you know, and try as I might even I knew one night during the full moon you would look up again. I was foolish and wasn’t prepared for it happening again. Besides, just between you and me… I have a lot of nice lady friends where I am… brunettes…”   
  
Goku rolled his eyes a little. Just like Master Roshi, he thought. Smiling a little, Goku laughed a little. “Sorry to take you away from your uh, lady friends Granpda. I just…” He sucked in a breath. How do you summarize ‘I wanted to say I’m sorry for accidentally killing you’?   
  
Mercifully, his grandpa understood. His grandpa  _ always _ seemed to understand him. And Chi-Chi, now that he thought about it. “I understand my boy, and even though it seems a bit superfluous, I do forgive you.” His eyes seemed to sparkle a little. “Now, I heard that you’ve gone and raised a little boy of your own. Why don’t you tell me about my great-grandson?”   
  
Goku’s whole face lit up with joy at the suggestion, and he scooted closer to begin telling his grandpa all about Gohan. “Well, I named him Gohan, after you Grandpa! And I’ve been so proud of him…”    
  
Smiling to himself, King Kai stepped back into his home as the delightful conversations of Goku and his grandfather filled the air. Antennae twitching, he sent a silent thank you to King Yemma before going to make dinner for all plus a guest. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is more of a brief character introspection for Goku, but I'm proud with the result.


End file.
